Known victims were left sawed to pieces by a chainsaw within a shipping container.

Cause

Estrada didn't want a leak in his organization and to prevent having one, he ordered the deaths of anyone who could put him in danger.

Hector Estrada was a Character in DEXTER. He was the kingpin of a drug cartel that Officer Harry Morgan was investigating, trying to bring him and his organization to justice, in the process using an informant of his named Laura Moser, to provide key information about their illicit activities. He sent Santos Jimenez, Lipsey and Welsh to murder her as well as several other people (possibly informants) in a shipping container, while Laura's children Dexter and Brian Moser watched.

Hector is debatably Dexter'smost important kill in the series, following Santos Jimenez(who was directly responsible for Laura's death), though he killed her under coercion from Hector, making Hector the most urgent kill in the series, because of the trauma he inflicted on both Dexter and his brother Brian Moser's lives.

Contents

Estrada is a drug lord and a powerful one at that, which officer Harry Morgan was investigating in order to bring down his drug ring. Using an informant by the name of Laura Moser, he successfully infiltrated his organization...that is until Laura was followed to a park where she met up with Harry, thus blowing her cover. Estrada, furious that he was being taken for a fool, ordered Santos Jimenez, Welsh and Lipsey to take care of Laura as well as other enemies of Estrada (deserters, snitches, etc.).

Having captured Laura and her children Dexter Moser and Brian Moser, they brought everyone to a shipping container located at the Shipping Yard to be executed. She as well as several other people were killed violently by a chainsaw wielded by Santos Jimenez. The men left Dexter and Brian alone, leaving the scene where it took three days before the smell of the shipping container alerted nearby workers and the police stormed the scene, Harry being the first inside (due to his connection with Laura, being an affair, he needed to check first).

He discovered young Dexter and Brian, but chose Dexter immediately because of his age being so young...he knew that psychologically this boy could possibly be saved from this disaster (and as an obligation to Laura, taking care of him was essential). Brian was later picked up by police and admitted into a psychiatric hospital where he would be released over 16 years later, taking on the alias of Rudy Cooper. Dexter in turn would be adopted by Harry, later becoming Dexter Morgan where he lived together with Doris Morgan and Debra Morgan. Unfortunately, Dexter was not spared of the dark urges to kill...as it would later shape his entire life, yet Harry's sense of justice allowed him to train Dexter to channel his urges for good, i.e. killing people who deserved it.

As for Estrada himself, nothing is known of what happened to him. It is possible that because all three of Laura Moser's Killers were put on trial for the murder, that a connection was made that possibly sealed his fate and put him behind bars as well. Later on when Dexter tracks down Santos, he learns that Estrada was a dangerous and violent man who would have killed Santos if he had not followed his orders.

According to Dexter, Estrada was always out of his reach due to being incarcerated, and he had kept watch on this case (through some sort of informant) whether or not a parole would never occur. Expecting to be notified in case a release was set, Dexter continued with his life until a time would present itself where he could finally kill the last of his mother's murderers.

Estrada was only mentioned in passing as a shadowy figure overseeing a drug organization in Harry's time as a cop, then again by Santos Jimenez who attempted to "excuse" his actions in killing Laura Moser. He finally makes a physical appearance in Season Seven.

Dexter finally received his opportunity to kill the last of the men responsible for his mother's death and his (as well as his brother's) Dark Passenger, as Hector was put up for parole after nearly 40 years. Dexter arrived at the hearing to observe it and despite being given the option for speaking up as to why he shouldn't be released, Dexter remained quiet as he thought this is exactly what he wanted. Hector reassured the advisers of the hearing that he was fit for society and they approved him, marking him for release.

After he got out, Hector proved he wasn't in as poor health as displayed during the hearing, when chasing after the bus meant to pick him up. Dexter later would meet with him at a carnival and introduce himself under an alias in order to gain Hector's trust, acting as an informant for some of Estrada's old partners that could help connect him with a shipment. After initially blowing him off, he was convinced to meet up with him and agreed on the night of Christmas Eve.

As scheduled, both men arrived at the spot and Dexter walked him into a shipping container (possibly the one where Laura Moser was murdered long ago). Once Hector noticed the room filled with plastic and a chainsaw on a table in the center, he pulled a gun in an attempt to shoot Dexter but was disarmed quickly, thrown against the wall before being knocked out. Upon awakening, he was faced with an interrogation and mention of what occurred in the past...realizing just who Dexter was. He referred to him as "Dickie Moser", something Dexter corrected only quickly before continuing his ritual. He moved towards the chainsaw, saying it was the same way that he sent Santos Jimenez out with.

Before Dexter could commence, Estrada stopped him with some compelling information - he mentioned a cop that had arranged for his release, stating it was a Captain and felt it was a setup to get him. Dexter, realizing that this was none other than Maria LaGuerta, understood it was actually a trap for Dexter himself and as LaGuerta (with two armed detectives) arrived on scene, he released Estrada and walked him out onto the dock, trying to keep him quiet as he meant to escape. Estrada took an opportunity to knock Dexter off of him and escaped into the waters below, while Dexter was left without knowledge of his whereabouts.

Dexter visits Florencia in an effort to find Estrada after his escape, and stalks her to a local park where she meets up with him (despite the strained relationship she claimed). Dexter pays off two young boys w

Dexter kills Estrada.

ho are in the park to throw a ball at Estrada, and he chases them into the parking lot where Dexter's vehicle waits, and he injects him with the M99 tranquilizer. Before the ritual, Estrada calls LaGuerta and tells her to meet him at the same container by the port (This is all a ruse by Dexter, however, so that he can kill LaGuerta and protect himself and Debra). Estrada tells Dexter that his mother was a snitch and "it was her or me." Dexter kills Estrada by stabbing him in the chest, and plans on shooting both LaGuerta and Estrada postmortem to make it look like they both killed each other.